The Bruins came right out and said it on Thursday night: Marco Sturm is not a member of the Los Angeles Kings. The same day that he reportedly waived his no-trade clause to facilitate a deal to LA, health issues held up the trade and kept him in Boston for the time being.

Amidst all the uncertainty, the Bruins went out on Thursday night and gave the Lightning a thorough beating, running up the score on Mike Smith and Dan Ellis to the tune of an 8-1 victory. It was a long day for the Bruins, and they end it with a big win in hand and Sturm still on the roster. Here’s a look back at the day:

Noon hour: Darren Dreger of TSN reports via twitter that a deal was struck between the B’s and Kings that would send Sturm to LA. The deal seemingly would end the team’s salary cap woes, as Sturm, who is in the final year of his contract, has a $3.5 million cap hit.

7 p.m. hour: After crickets from the Bruins regarding an announcement, TSN’s Bob McKenzie tweets that “medical issues” had complicated the deal and that there was “uncertainty” as to whether it could get done.

9:43 p.m.: Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli issues the following statement on Sturm:

“I am aware of the various media reports today regarding Marco Sturm. I can confirm that I spoke to Marco about waiving his no trade clause and have had discussions regarding Marco with other teams. I can also confirm that there is no trade in place with Marco. At this time, Marco is a member of the Boston Bruins and will continue to train with our team.”

“Final word on aborted Sturm deal: LAK were furnished with player’s medical records. They had concerns with what they saw.”

POSTGAME: Teammates acknowledge an odd day in which they thought Sturm was gone, only to learn he would stick around.

“It was a little different, that’s for sure,” Savard said. “Especially a good friend like that.”

Savard, who made his season debut on Thursday night, had done much of his on-ice rehabbing with Sturm, as the two would take the ice together before they were cleared to practice with teammates.

“We’ve had a tough run together, that’s for sure,” Savard said. “We’ve supported each other along the way, so when the news came that he was getting traded, it was tough for both of us, because we’re good friends, obviously. I’m going to see him tomorrow, and be happy he’s still there.”

Shawn Thornton noted that until Sturm is a member of another team, he is going to continue to embrace him as a teammate.

“I really don’t know what’s going on, except that he’s still part of our team,” Thornton said. “He’s a good friend of mine. Our families get along really well. As far as I’m concerned, he’s still here, so I’m going to continue to treat it as such.”

By DJ Bean | Comments Off on Report: Marco Sturm trade is off for time being

According to a tweet from TSN’s Bob McKenzie, the deal that would send Bruins forward Marco Sturm to the Kings is up in the air due to medical concerns. Sturm is coming off a second major knee surgery and is weeks away from being able to play in games.

Sturm had reportedly waived his no-trade clause to facilitate the deal. McKenzie is reporting that there is “no deal in place at this time” and that there is uncertainty over whether a deal could be completed.

With Thursday’s news that the Bruins have tradedMarco Sturm to the Kings [UPDATE: Multiple outlets are reporting the deal is off for the time being due to health concerns], things may seem to be a bit up in the air for the Bruins. The reality is that they are just the opposite, and that things are finally calm in what was once an endless sea of questions about the team’s salary cap situation.

The Bruins first shed salary when they sent Matt Hunwick to the Avalanche on Tuesday, relinquishing the B’s of Hunwick’s $1.45 million cap hit and allowing them to activate Marc Savard when appropriate. Still, the Bruins weren’t kidding themselves by suggesting their selling off of assets was done, considering that Sturm’s $3.5 million would be back on the books once his knee was fully healed.

‘We have another move to make, and we’ll leave it at that,’ Peter Chiarelli said after the Hunwick trade.

It had to be a big move, and after months of speculation regarding what it may be, it’s finally been made, and the team doesn’t need to worry about the cap anymore. According to Cap Geek, the B’s are now $46,128 under the $59.4 million threshold. Here’s some quick points regarding Sturm’s dealing.

– After all the speculation that Michael Ryder would be the odd man out when Savard and Sturm returned, Ryder is sticking around. It seemed a logical line of thinking that given his $4 million price tag, a trade or demotion to the AHL for Ryder might be the cleanest move for the Bruins, as it would solve their cap woes without too many pieces having to move around.

Quite frankly, Ryder deserved to stay, and the Bruins are better off for having chosen to keep him over Sturm. He’s third on the team in goals with six, and more importantly, he has perhaps been — surprisingly or not — the best asset for Tyler Seguin. The latest case of their work together was on display Wednesday night when Ryder set up Seguin’s first-period goal on a 2-on-1.

While it may seem a bit odd to think the Bruins, who struggled so mightily to score goals a season ago, would be wise to get rid of the guy who led them in goals in 2009-10, Sturm is too big an unknown at this point. From all indications, he’s still a few weeks from being able to play in games, and the Bruins have gotten enough out of guys like Ryder and Blake Wheeler that of the three, that Sturm was the most expendable. It will be interesting to see how his knees hold up, as he’s had major surgery on each of them.

– Put the kibosh on all of that Seguin World Juniors Championships talk. The team could have temporarily been given some cap relief with Seguin spending Dec. 26 through Jan. 5 in Buffalo, but there’s no longer a need for that. With Sturm gone, they would benefit in exactly zero ways from letting Seguin play in the WJC.

– There goes the proof of the Joe Thornton trade happening (well, based on the initial members of the deal, at least). Sturm was the last player remaining of the package the Bruins received from the Sharks in exchange for Thornton. The Bruins also got Brad Stuartand Wayne Primeau in the deal for the center and former B’s captain.

According to TSN’s Darren Dreger (via twitter) the Bruins have traded winger Marco Sturm to the Kings. According to ESPN’s James Murphy, the Bruins received a conditional fifth-round pick.

Sturm is still recovering from a torn ACL and MCL suffered in last year’s playoffs. In trading him and his $3.5 million salary cap hit, the team will be cap-compliant without any issue. The team would have needed to shed salary before Sturm’s return, as they had been given cap relief with both Sturm and Marc Savard on long-term injury reserve.

Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said Monday night that in moving the contract of Matt Hunwick, which they did in trading the blueliner to the Avalanche, will allow the Bruins to eventually activate center Marc Savard without going over the leagues $59.4 million salary cap.

“This was one of the steps that we had to take as an organization to take care of the cap situation,” Chiarelli said of the trade, which landed them former Boston University defenseman Colby Cohen.

“This will be enough to activate Savard when he’s ready to play,” Chiarelli added.

Savard said that he would not be playing on Wednesday and was unsure of whether he’d be able to play on Thursday.

As for how much more money the team will need to clear or how many moves it will take to put the team in position to eventually take on Marco Sturm (less than $3.5 million given how far into the season it is) when he returns, Chiarelli didn’t tip his hand. Instead, he trusted the “capologists” of the media to come up with their own theories.

By DJ Bean | Comments Off on Marco Sturm still waiting to be cleared for contact

WILMINGTON — Marco Sturm is certainly itching to get back into games, but unlike the case of Marc Savard, it seems he’s not nearing a return to the lineup as quickly.

Sturm has yet to be cleared for contact as he recovers from a torn ACL and MCL, which he suffered during the playoffs against the Flyers. He admittedly had a setback that came as a result of his traveling with the team to Belfast and the Czech Republic to begin the season.

“Just all the traveling set me back for a few weeks here,” Sturm said Monday, “So I’m just trying to catch up.”

Sturm never actually had to stop working out while overseas, but he said that the flying, as well as all of the walking in Europe led to swelling in his knee.

“It’s tough to say [whether I regret going on the trip],” Sturm said. “I think it was good because it got me closer to the guys, but it was tough because everyone went, all the doctors went too, so they always wanted me around there. We kind of knew it, too. We were hoping to battle it through, but it didn’t work out that well.”

The 32-year-old free-agent-to-be said that he does not have any doctors appointments planned as he looks to get cleared for contact, but he’s welcomed the opportunity to get more practice time in this week with the team. After getting back on the ice following a recent encounter with the flu, Sturm sees the physical aspect as the next hill he must conquer.

“It’s more the battle now, but I’m still not doing it, so that’s why I still have to wait a little bit,” Sturm said. “But that’s my last step to go, is to battle and get more practices with the guys, too. ”

Sturm hasn’t set a timetable on his return, and is instead focused on stringing together a positive week that could hopefully lead to contact drills.

By DJ Bean | Comments Off on Jordan Caron and David Krejci return to Bruins’ practice

WILMINGTON — The Bruins wrapped up practice at Ristuccia Arena on Monday with some familiar faces back on the ice. David Krejci and Jordan Caron, both of whom were held out of Sunday’s loss to the Thrashers with the flu, made their returns to the ice. Caron missed two games with the flu, while Marco Sturm, recovering from a torn ACL and MCL, also caught it but was back on the ice Monday.

Claude Julien was not at practice, as he was attending the memorial services of former NHL coach Pat Burns.